Hill tries to bypass Storm

There are a lot of storms swirling around Washington these days but only one that’s dragging down Democrats and Republicans alike. It’s the one made by Research in Motion.

The BlackBerry Storm — the first BlackBerry without a physical keyboard — was supposed to be RIM’s sleek answer to Apple’s iPhone. But for members and staffers accustomed to thumbing their way through the day, this isn’t just the imperfect Storm. It’s the devil in 5.5 ounces.

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“The BlackBerry, to me, is a utilitarian tool,” said Rodell Mollineau, communications staff director for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). “It’s not easy to send e-mails on that thing. It is not a good touch screen, and it’s not like the iPhone, where there are so many other great features to it.”

Mollineau said only one Reid staffer ended up getting the Storm, a senior adviser he wouldn’t identify by name. When Mollineau told him that he thought the device was a bigger pain that it was worth, the adviser — an iPhone user — dismissed the warning.

“Three days later,” Mollineau said, “I literally walk in and he’s cursing with four-letter words, and he was slamming it down, saying, ‘I can’t get e-mail to work all right.’ It just is not for people here who mainly use their BlackBerrys for that.”

Jeff Ventura, spokesman for the House chief administrative officer, said many Hill customers have returned the Storm after trying it. While his office tries to remain an impartial broker of technology, Ventura offered a measured — but unmistakable — CAO beat-down: “The Storm device is not ideal for certain users and has presented some valid functional challenges.”

Ventura said the CAO made the Storm available to House members and staffers after receiving multiple requests for a device with touch-screen capabilities. At the time, he said, the phone passed the basic performance test that CAO administers.

After the complaints started coming in, Ventura’s office recently starting offering a workshop on the Storm to Hill customers.

Ventura’s message now? Buyer beware: “The CAO strongly suggests that, before ordering the Storm, or phones with similar touch-screen capabilities, the customer become fully aware of a device’s limitations, particularly in an intensive work environment like the Hill.”

Brian Walsh, communications director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said a number of NRSC staffers gave the BlackBerry Storm a shot, but only one or two have stuck with it.